To Love And Conquer
by Promise10
Summary: Dumbledore made a right choice that night in leaving Harry with the Dursleys. The protection given by Lily Potter to her son only grows in the midst of a loving family, and a Harry Potter enters the magical world who also has quite a lot of power to boast about. Could love truly be the power Voldemort knew not? With the help of a special friend, Harry is sure to figure that out.


**Disclaimer: Not my work, I am not making any money. The credit for this solely goes to J. K. Rowling , who created the wonderful world of Harry Potter for us to play in.**

**Did you really expect that I had anything else to say? Pfft. On with the story...**

"Aunt Petunia! I got my letter today." Harry stated a bit excitedly. Really, getting the confirmation that you are a wizard, and have super-cool powers is kinda awesome.

The story of Harry Potter's life was certainly unique. His parents were killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort when he was a mere toddler, but he had somehow managed to reflect his own killing curse back at him, thus defeating him for good. He was then placed in his aunt's house as she was his closest family. There were rough patches in their early years, primarily due to his aunt's tense relation with his mother in their later years, but whatever be the appearance, Petunia Dursley closely cared for her nephew. Harry's cousin Dudley was about the same age as him, and the two boys had an inseparable bond. Harry also had a great capacity to love, and that truly changed his surroundings for the better. Aunt Petunia had finally revealed that he wasn't so much angry at Lily Potter than at the wizarding society. Hell, what right did they have to take away her sister from her? Moreover, she had initially cared for Harry as she knew Lily would have the same for Dudley, no matter the changed circumstances, but now she had also come to truly love Harry as her son. She had been initially mum about the magical world as she feared that history would repeat itself...that Harry would be taken away from as well. That day, a teary-eyed aunt and nephew shared a great deal, and Harry was stunned that she had cared so much for him despite her beliefs. That day, he had made a promise to both himself and her; the Dursley family would never lose Harry Potter, nor would Dudley ever lack a brother. They were truly a family now.

"Yeah, well...", she seemed pretty resigned to the fact, "but don't even think that you can use this excuse to skive off from your studies."

Harry's grin, if possible, grew wider, "Never could I think of such a thing, Aunt Petunia. Never."

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"Ah, so here we are. Diagon Alley." Hagrid beamed, and pointed towards the Leaky Cauldron. "Let's go over to Old Tom's, we can always meet some nice chaps there."

As soon as Harry entered through the front door, a great hush fell over the entire room. Then, one old wizard whispered, "Harry...Potter?"

"That's right Macmillan, he's Harry all right. Right here with us." A flurry of hands rose to shook his own, which amused Harry a little. Truly, he had learned a little of his legend, but he hadn't expected this! Then Hagrid hailed someone special, "Harry, I'd like you meet Professor Quirell. Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, starting this year."

"Hello, Mr. P-P-Potter. I trust we sh-shall have a hos-hospitable relationship." Professor Quirell stuttered, holding out his hands like everyone else.

"Sure, Professor Quirell." Harry enthusiastically shook his hand, when something...odd happened.

Everyone in the room could feel a surge of pure power as it travelled from Harry to Quirell. Instantly, he backed away, holding his head in his hands. "No..." he gasped, "It can't happen to me." Suddenly, he stopped panting and collapsed. At that instant, a ghostly form erupted out of his turban which seemed to flutter for a moment, before scurrying away with an enraged shriek. For a brief moment, Harry felt absolute revulsion and loathing creep from that wraith, but it was over as soon as he had felt it. The lights inside the pub returned to normal at that precise moment, as Harry took in the dumbfounded expressions on everyone's faces.

"Err..." he began nervously, "Was that supposed to happen?"

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Summer passed in a flurry. There was a constant barrage of mails before a Professor from Hogwarts, Filius Flitwick, personally came over and made some arrangements to remove the inconvenience. Thing was, after Professor Quirell's collapse, he was thoroughly examined by healers and it was revealed that a dark wizard had made his residence in his mind-not unlike your typical possession. They were unable to trace the whereabouts of this embodiment, and Professor Quirell's memories didn't help them any-it was completely bleached. However, it was evident that something in Harry's magic had reacted with him, and destroyed the darkness within. Add this to him being the Boy-Who-Lived, and the wizarding world was in uproar about greeting their Hero, especially the concerned parents-who'd want their children to be taught by a possessed wizard?

The best gift that had arrived, however, was from Ollivander, the wand maker, in the form of a mage staff! They were extremely rare, and the only one in Britain was now in Harry's possession. Only wizards with inhuman power levels, i.e. mages could supposedly use them. Harry didn't feel that was true, but it certainly required more power to work with than the wand he had bought. The most interesting fact was that since mages usually dealt with very complex level enchantments or other tiring work, these staffs were-how do you describe it? Let's say, it was 'loaded' with simple level charms and spells, which the mages could use their raw power to channel, while focussing on arduous level castings. Simply put, Harry wanted to blast something? He needed to think about the general effects, what he wanted as the outcome and let loose his power, and a neat "**Bombarda**" would come out. Of course, this wouldn't work very well for complex spell-casting, but it did the job. It wasn't used by people until they had achieved mastery in nearly all forms of practical magic, and the last recorded use of such an artefact was in 1818! However, Flitwick had shrugged and said, "The Boy-Who-Lived can easily handle such things." He had even gone on so far as to modify it's appearance and make it look like his original holly wand, until Harry wanted to use the staff.

Apparently, teachers weren't immune to the hype either. Harry trained with the staff that summer, it's magic masking his own magical signature and fooling the Ministry's trace. His inspiration? Why, folklore, anime and Star Wars, of course! He found that it was semi-sentient, and named it Saba. He just loved Power Rangers!

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"Troll. Troll in the dungeons." Came the alarmed shout from the school's caretaker, Argus Filch, before he collapsed in a dead faint. There was an immediate rush, but Harry's mind snapped back to something. "Oh god," he breathed, "Hermione doesn't know about the Troll." Instantly, he sprinted towards one of the girls' bathroom.

The situation was partly his fault. His best friend, Ron, had insulted the most intelligent witch in their year, Hermione Granger, after she had tried to help him in Charms. Harry hadn't done anything to stop him, and that made him feel terrible, which compounded when he overheard that she had locked herself in one of the bathrooms, crying since she had no friends. Harry had despised bullies all his life and he decided, then on, he must reconsider his friendship with Ron if he didn't accept his mistake and apologise.

Ah, the destination was in sight. He peered inside, cautiously. "Hermione? Are you in there?" A sniffing voice answered, "Go...Go away."

"Look Hermione, I am sorry for what Ron said earlier. I apologise on his behalf. But you really need to move. There's a troll loose in this castle; you are in serious danger." Harry had stepped in closer during his speech and he gently rubbed away a tear track from her face. "You shouldn't cry. Pretty girls like you shouldn't cry."

Hermione's face heated up at this comment, but before she could respond, she shrieked in abject terror. Harry could see why; the troll had lumbered into the bathroom, waving his club about threateningly.

"Crap." Harry muttered. Then, turning to his wand, he whispered, "Saba, ready for action?" Before Hermione's gaping eyes, the wand changed into a mage staff as Harry held it up and grinned, "Release." An azure bolt of magic blasted out, easily sending the troll to dream land by sheer force.

"You all right?" She heard Harry speaking, but she was starry-eyed and looking at the boy in wonder. Hey, can you blame her for admiring her Hero? She was even more impressed when Harry spun a story about how he had used the levitation charm to knock the troll out by it's own club when faced by an interrogation by the teachers. After that draining ordeal was over, they sat down and had a long talk. Stress has a way of making people come closer, and children often try to talk a lot to divert their mind away from it. They talked about many inconsequential stuff, but many important facts were shared as well. Harry certainly understood that there was more to Hermione than being another annoying girl on the train, and Hermione realized that for the first time in her life she might have someone she could call a friend. Add that to the fact she helped him to prepare for Quidditch, and he helped her to slowly get over some of her most annoying traits (namely, writing beyond context and a tendency to take any printed material as her Bible), she formed as close a bond with him as she could hope for.

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Harry had an invisibility cloak for his Christmas from an anonymous source, and was using it to scour the halls. Normally, he would have returned home, but the Dursley's were out of country. He found a solo mirror in a pretty large room, with curious engravings on it. He peered into it, and immediately was mortified and hurried back. He definitely didn't think of Hermione in that way! Did he? All the same, the embarrassment prevented him from returning there ever again.

Far away, Albus Dumbledore glowed with pleasure. It gave him no little pleasure to realise that Harry was so wise, even at such a young age, that he could escape the temptations of the Mirror of Erised. Yes, he was a fine lad. He frowned, was it time to inform the boy about the prophecy? Nah, he should enjoy his childhood.

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"Bye Harry." Hermione waved, "Remember to write soon."

"Same goes for me, mate." Ron grinned and clapped him on his shoulders. Harry didn't think it would be possible, but Ron had actually made a heartfelt apology to Hermione and they were all friends now. Harry grinned back, tracing his path towards their car.

"How was school? You got to see all those ugly witches with warts on their noses?" Dudley teased. Harry absently remarked, "Found a very pretty one, actually." Unseen to the boys, the elders smirked and nodded at each other. He then gave them a bit-by-bit account of his school year, right up to his disappointment in not finding out who had sneaked the troll into the castle, but that he suspected that their sour (and extremely biased) Potions teacher, Professor Snape to be behind it. He was surprised to see his Aunt enraged at that name.

"Snape..." she stated firmly, "is probably one of the worst specimens of the whole humanity."

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Summer passed fairly fast, with Harry learning more and more about his family from his aunt. He learned about how his mom had written to her so often for comfort after Snape had hurt her terribly-who was her first friend in the wizarding world. Incidentally, it also seemed that he was the person who started to sever the ties between the siblings. It did nothing to improve his opinion of Snape. Finally, the day came for him to travel to Diagon Alley and collect his school supplies. He stepped in, wearing a top hat and sunglasses to hide himself from the prying eyes. He got the books and also saw their new Defence teacher who had authored most of them. He was gushing about his achievements and people were fawning all over him. To Harry, it seemed rather cheap and loud. Then he finally found Hermione, enjoying an ice cream alongside the Weasley family. Sneaking up behind her, Harry screamed, "Boo!" The witch immediately spun around and sighed in relief to realise that it was only Harry.

"Don't scare me like that." She chided gently.

"Who, me?" Harry smirked. He would have received a smack for that, but they were interrupted by the unwelcome sight of Lucius Malfoy, who strolled up to Ron's dad, Arthur Weasley, and after some snide comments, insulted him about not mixing with the proper crowd. A fistfight ensured, which was only broken up by Hagrid's arrival. Scowling, Malfoy Sr. prepared to leave.

Harry frowned; he had seen drop a small diary into Ginny's cauldron of books. Even if he was a git, it wasn't right to not return his stuff to him, was it?

"Wait up, Mr. Malfoy", Harry paused to pick up the diary, "I think this is yours..." and suddenly he froze as the diary of Tom Riddle touched his skin.

It wasn't a Horcrux for nothing. The innate loyalty, compulsion charms set out as the darkness it within tried to taint Harry's very soul, hoping to gain control of him and his formidable magic. Harry's mind was rocked back and forth; he had never experienced so intense hate or loathing, and couldn't find the required strength to deal with it for a moment. The Horcrux knew-as soon as it had established the link, it knew that Harry could be fatal to it, and was trying it's best to save itself. It didn't have time to deal with this situation tactfully, thank you very much.

"Harry? Are you all right?" came the concerned voice of Hermione, as if from a faraway land.

"Yeah mate, what happened?" asked Ron, concerned as they both placed their hands on his shoulders, sending reassurance surging through him. That did it! Harry's power stemmed from his ability to love, just as Voldemort's stemmed from hate. It was the reason they were equals, and yet the antithesis of each other. The platonic love he felt for his friends might not have been enough to tap into his full core, but it certainly was enough to give him the strength to disregard the Horcrux's mind games, and he sent a jolt of his own magic back at it, which emanated from his soul. The protection his mother had given him was bolstered by a loving family-now surrounded by friends, the Boy-Who-Lived achieved something thought to be impossible; he destroyed a Horcrux using raw magic. As it worked it's way through the diary, an holographic image of a sixteen year old Tom Riddle in Hogwarts robes rose up, screaming in agony for a moment, before the charred remains of the book fell on the ground. The onlookers were either puzzled or amused, but with magic, something like this was a daily occurrence in the Diagon Alley, so much importance was not placed on it. Harry, however was very confused and made a promise to find out what had just happened to him. Ron's father, Arthur Weasley also looked apprehensively at it and with a flick of his wand, the ashes and whatever residue remained of that book was stored in a magical container. An investigation would surely be made, especially since it was his daughter who could have been affected in the same way!

Lucius Malfoy was shocked. If his master knew about his failure...Paling dramatically, he apparated; and splinched himself after nearly twenty years. The healers later wondered why his head was found under a sewage tank, and just why his testicles couldn't be recovered.

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The year ended smoothly. The only hitch was that at the end of the year, their defence instructor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhurt mysteriously lost all his memories. If you asked Harry Potter about how it happened, he could tell you a thrilling tale; after Hermione had decided that Lockhurt was an absolute rubbish teacher (shocking!), they had snooped around to find out his secrets. It even involved using Polyjuice Potion to turn into distinguished individuals and interrogate him, but it was a disaster as Hermione somehow was transformed into a part-cat. Finally, they had discovered his secrets; he was nothing more than a fraud and phony who lived off other peole's achievements after erasing their memory. Lockhurt had tried to obliviate them too. Saba didn't take too kindly to that, and had enacted a force field that had reflected the spell with such power that every memory in Lockhurt's mind was destroyed. As for the other matters, Hermione was glad that nobody had seen her in that state; okay, Colin had snapped a few pictures, but Harry had promptly confiscated them.

She never knew he had kept them...not for any ulterior reason, mind you, but it was because he thought Hermione looked cute like that. Just another side-effect of watching too much anime.

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"This is bloody unfair." Harry grumbled to himself. His grouse was genuine, at least to him. After the escape of mass murderer Sirius Black from Azkaban, who was behind the death of Harry's parents, the teachers had decided that it was too dangerous for him to travel to the magical village Hogsmeade, where he would be out in the open and unprotected. It was logical and all that, but his thirteen year old mind didn't care too much about the reasons. Suddenly, he ran into someone.

"Ah, look Fred..."

"...Who we have here"

"...Looking all lonely and moping around."

Harry sighed. It was the Weasley twins, speaking in that ridiculous manner again. He really wasn't in the mood, so he curtly stated, "I don't think you'd be chipper either if you were in my situation." At this statement, the twins grinned like the cat that ate the canary. Okay, Harry was really concerned now.

"Fear not, our young friend..."

"...For we have the solutions to all your problems"

"We are glad to present..."

"...The Marauder's Map." They finished in unison.

Harry's curiosity was piqued by this, and he asked, "The Marauder's Map? What's that, exactly?"

"Over here." Fred pointed to a blank piece of parchment, "You just touch it with your wand and say '_I solemnly swear I am up to no good_', and Bingo." Harry was amazed at this artefact; it showed the name of everybody in the school, complete with their current placements. It also gave detailed descriptions of how to get out of Hogwarts-by seven secret passages. It really was a blessing for Harry.

"Can I use it?" Harry asked like an eager child.

"Sure," George grinned, "Just say '_Mischief Managed_' like this when you're done with it."

"Thank you." Harry tapped it again and chanted, "_I solemnly swear I am up to no good_".

Instantly an amazing change came over the map. To say the least, it was much more descriptive and detailed than the earlier version, and now attached taglines to the black dots. To the amazement of all three, Harry's dot alternated between, "Harry James Potter" and "Prongs Junior".

"Blimey," Both of them exclaimed, "You are the son of Prongs?"

"Prongs?"

"The four creators of this map: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. They were like the greatest tricksters this school had ever seen." They exhaled, "but this means..."

"...James Potter was Prongs."

The calm voice of Professor Lupin startled them all. Harry was the first to recover, "Err...we didn't see you coming, Professor."

"Not even with the map?" He grinned.

"I wasn't paying attention...Wait, you know what it does?"

"I surely do. I was one of the architects, after all. Gentlemen, I give you: Moony." Immediately, Fred and George ran to him and prostrated on the floor, chanting, "We're not worthy, we're not worthy..."

"Err, Professor...I think there is something wrong with this map." Harry said hesitantly.

"Impossible, Harry. The Marauder's Map never lies." All three chorused.

"Why is it then showing the presence of Peter Pettigrew in the castle? I mean, didn't he die like thirteen years ago?" Instantly, Professor Lupin snatched it from Harry's grip and his hand trembled for a moment. Then he said in an eerily calm voice, "Follow me. We have a rat to catch."

Both the twins were also peering into the map, and one spoke up hesitantly, "Professor, I don't see him."

"You can't. Only a Marauder...or in this case, the son of a Marauder could find another of his team mates with this map. Peter was also one of us. His name was..."

"Wormtail." Harry finished, as the dot changed to reflect the same.

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"Sirius, what are we doing here, again?" Harry whined, as his godfather led him through the imposing building of the Ministry of Magic.

Following the discovery that Peter Pettigrew was alive, Professor Lupin had gone on a rampage. He had finally discovered that Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, was actually the wizard, hiding using his animagus form. He was caught and brought to Dumbledore, who took immediate actions to notify the Minister of Magic about these developments. After some questioning under Veritaserum, he had revealed that he was actually the betrayer who sold James Potter and Lily Potter to Voldemort. From his testimony, it was clear that Sirius was innocent. Immediately, the dementors were called off from the school premises and it was made public that Sirius Black will be given a fair trial if he surrendered to the Aurors. As it turned out, the large dog which had been shadowing Harry and gave him the fear of being watched by the Grim, was actually Sirius-he was also using his Animagus form for safety. It was Professor Lupin who found him out, too. The Legal formalities were all over and now, Sirius Orion Black was free and at his full health. Maybe his mind was a bit affected, but as Professor Lupin had remarked to Harry, "He can't be any crazier than he was earlier."

As the lift stopped once more, Sirius looked up and said, "Oh well, we are here." Harry was surprised at his tone of voice; Sirius was always cheerful and joking around, but at this moment he was nervous. He remembered what Sirius had told him earlier this morning: He was going to learn something that will change his life. Sirius didn't seem very sure of the fact that revealing the information was correct, but after some thoughts he had deemed it necessary. He grasped Sirius' hand for support as they together entered the Department of the Unspeakables.

"I want to see Croaker." Sirius commanded one of the employees and stated in a firm voice, "We want to visit the Hall of Prophecies. I am the Lord of the House of Black, and thus I pledge my request."

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Harry sat down, dumbly. What the hell was that he had heard? He, a thirteen year old boy was supposed to defeat Voldemort? A surge of anger passed through his mind; why the hell had Dumbledore never informed him about this? What was he really supposed to do now?

Sirius cleared his throat, apprehensively. He didn't blame Harry for reacting the way he was. Hell, he would have cracked by now if he was told something like that! "Harry, I truly know this is a lot to take in; but think clearly and objectively about this. Don't you have any advantage? Have you never experienced a cursed object? Any truly strange happenings?"

"No...I don't..." Harry was grasping about, grasping for straws, when the lead Unspeakable asked in a gruff voice, "What about the diary that you destroyed in your second year, kid? Think that was just one of 'those issues' which happen with magicals, did you?"

"Diary?" Sirius spun to meet him, "Harry told me about it, but it seemed like a simple cursed diary. Harry has a lot of power; after all, he can use a mage staff at this age." The pride was evident on his face, "So I gather it was just his magic reacting to protect him...wasn't it?"

"We would have thought that too, if not for the fact that Tom Riddle was the name the Dark Lord went by in his Hogwarts years."

"I felt...love during that incident", Harry spoke up, startling the other two (at least Sirius, you couldn't see the face of the other guy). "I mean...as soon as I touched it, I felt a loathing not quite my own. I can't explain it, but I suddenly felt very weak. Then, Hermione and Ron spoke to me; their words were like ambrosia. Once I concentrated on their words, and remembered the good times we have had...the familiarity and companionship I feel for them...the magic sort of blasted out of me and destroyed that diary."

"The power of love?" Sirius sounded highly sceptical, suddenly.

"Don't underestimate it." Croaker looked at Sirius, "It is one of the most potent forces that drive this universe. For it, people can cross mountains and even destroy all his other ties. We, after all, have a whole room dedicated to it's study, yet it is probably the branch of magic we understand the least. Lily Potter was a very bright witch; she could easily have enrolled to be an Auror or even an Unspeakable. It is not surprising that she could have found something that could potentially stop the Killing Curse. Personally, I have always thought it was blockable by magic, but we just didn't know the way. After all, no magic could reverse death, and there could be no magic that could exclusively grant it either. Combined with her sacrifice, and Mr. Potter's raw power here, I think the protection was created which repealed the Killing Curse, and it might continue to protect him even now."

"Then...I will be safe from Voldemort?" Harry asked, hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. There are many ways to kill a person, Mr. Potter."

"Great. So what do we do now?" Sirius asked, somehow again slipping into depression.

"You might not have to do anything. We have been conducting research on Voldemort's method of defying death for quite some time now, and this diary proved our assumptions were right." He shrugged, "We could make a break for it, but that would mean losing our neutrality; we may be semi-autonomous, but our funds are sanctioned by the Minister himself. If we go to him, word would certainly leak out. We certainly don't want that, and it would be pretty difficult to persuade him. However, if a Lord wants the Unspeakables to conduct a private assignment for the safety of his godchild, and he has enough money, the Ministry certainly wouldn't have any reason to object." The man smirked in a chilling manner, just like madman from "Silence of the Lambs".

The smirk apparently was contagious as Sirius sported a similar expression on his face. "Will the Black Fortune be enough? I certainly have liquid assets too, and I can always fall into our old family business..."

Harry was touched that Sirius was offering up so much of his wealth to help him, and was going to add that he was pretty wealthy too, when Croaker responded, "Even a quarter of that would be more than enough, my Lord. Meanwhile, we can give Potter here a crash course on ways to fight and other general stuff to at least improve his chances if it ever comes to a direct battle. We will see how much power the Boy-Who-Lived really has." So, an agreement was made, which ensured that Harry probably wouldn't have the face the Dark Tosser alone...and he might actually come out alive from the encounter.

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Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody stomped out of his teaching room. This was unacceptable. First he survives an assassination attempt this early in the year, and now this? He just had to know how they did it! He spotted Dumbledore and called out to him, "Hello Albus, I have something to discuss with you."

"I'll be glad to hear you out, dear friend, but I am afraid I won't be able to help you if you wish to know why peach flavoured lemon drops are off the market for now." Dumbledore replied serenely.

Moody blinked twice. Well, they did say that '_The more things change, the more they remain the same_'. "This is about Potter and Granger", he snarled. "This class, I performed a customary sweep over all my students; you never know how often assassins polyjuice themselves to look like kids. I couldn't see either of them with my eye. They were completely blocked. What kind of magic are you teaching them, Albus?"

He smiled placatingly from under his beard, "It's no magic, my dear old friend. Just a muggle equipment they use to protect themselves from 'roditions'...I believe they are called Lead Jackets. And something to do with their sense of propriety, too."

Moody gaped dumbly at Dumbledore, "The Muggles wear lead? How can they carry that without feather-light charms?"

"Alas, my friend, it is one of the seventeen mysteries of life I have not yet solved".

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"Well, are you done yet?" Harry insisted, a bit restless.

"Just a moment, Harry...you know, you shouldn't have put your name in the Goblet to test your magical skills, even if you are receiving special training." Hermione replied from behind a screen.

"Hey, it is a matter of pride for our nation", Harry stated with a grin. Being the Hogwarts Champion was no small feet, after all. Plus, by speaking in parseltongue to get the dragon to understand him was just too easy, and he had breezed through the First Task. They were currently in the Prefects' Bath, trying to figure out the second clue embedded inside a golden egg.

"Well, I'm ready", said Hermione, stepping out from behind the screen. "What do you think?" She asked a bit shyly.

Harry's jaws dropped. For Merlin's sake, she was wearing a bright red and gold Gryffindor coloured bikini! It filled her in ways that should be illegal as it could cause cardiac arrest in any nearby males. Sporting a full on Weasley blush, he looked away as another part of him approved how Hermione looked...a lot. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on getting his clue with that vision of perfectness just a few feet from him?

Secretly, Hermione was very pleased with Harry's reactions. She had given all of this a great deal of thought and had come to the conclusion that he occupied a central part of her life. Without him, she likely would have remained friendless even now, and not certainly turn into a confident girl. Plus the fact that he was her best friend, completely understood her and also someone who could connect to the mundane world was a big bonus. She blushed as she remembered the Care of Magical Creatures Class in her third year when they had to ride a hippogriff with partners...her knickers had been damped during that flight. It was kind of a Lois Lane-Superman thing, she mused.

They stepped into the tub, with Harry desperately trying to keep his eyes on her face and not let them dip further south. Together, they listened to the Mermish song and came out with questions in their minds. Hermione bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, "Obviously they are going to take something important from you. Something that you would sorely miss...but what?"

Suddenly, Harry's confused thought process became an organized whole as he blurted out, "You". Without even stopping, he blurted out again, "I mean, look at it. You're my best friend and you have always been by my side. In this castle, you are potentially the thing I would miss most. I can replace anything, but not you or your friendship. It is the candle that lightens up my darkest days. I mean, I just care for you so much...and as you always say, Friendship and love are the exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration." He finished with a rather lame joke, trying to diffuse the tension, as he feared he had suddenly gone too far. What if...He didn't have time to wonder before Hermione pilled him into a deep hug. "Oh, Harry", she said with misty eyes, "They are some of the sweetest things I have ever heard."

She would have been content to just hold him like that, but Harry started to squirm. "Err, Hermione, you know just how close you are to me?"

"Are you complaining?"

"Err, no, I mean..." There was no way to explain it to her without sounding like a pervert, god damn it.

"Aww, Harry...I don't mind." She smiled softly, fully aware of his 'condition', a fact which Harry found extremely arousing. At that moment, an unspoken truth was established in their hearts; something which they already knew, was confirmed. They were in love with each other, and it wouldn't change. Harry's physical reactions certainly didn't lie as they swooped in to steal both of their first kiss.

Suddenly, a green mist seemed to blast out of Harry's scar as both the teens screamed in excruating pain. It was over almost before it had really began, though; the quasi-horcrux inside Harry's head, weakened to the point of being almost non-existent, and forced to become completely dormant, was destroyed by the rush of pure love Harry held in his heart for the young witch. As it screamed and finally disintegrated into nothingness, Harry spoke up in a trance-like voice, "Well...at least I get to brag that you swept the world from under my feet with my first kiss", before both of them fell down unconscious.

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"Well, so that's where it was." Croaker exclaimed in a patient voice. Rather nifty trick, won't you say?

The teachers had discovered them in the Prefects' Bath and they were placed under the supervision of Madam Pomfrey. They were healed quickly enough and to Pomfrey's astonishment, her general healing spell worked for the first time on Harry's cursed scar, and it immediately faded to be barely a shadow of it's former mark. She informed Dumbledore, was overheard by Rita (that damn reporter was actually a beetle Animagus), who published the story on Daily Prophet's evening issue and thus the word got out to a lot of people, Sirius and the Unspeakables included. They brought Dumbledore up-to-date on just what had already occurred and how he couldn't really do anything about it. The old man was quite put out with the secrecy, but eventually accepted that his tendency to try and know everything and interfere whenever he thought that he knew better, might have complicated the issue. They probably had ill feelings between them, but both of them hoped they would be able to look past that one day. Dumbledore certainly accepted that probably he was getting on in the years...after all, no one is invincible.

"Yes", Unspeakable #2 (Harry never learnt his name) spoke up, "We have taken care of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. Gaunt ring, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Slytherin's locket...all done. The tracking device we created from the destroyed diary, however showed the presence of two more soul fragments and we were unsure where the last part was other than in the Dark Lord's body." He shrugged, "Looks like it was in the kid's body itself...perhaps, the kid can do him in after all."

"Forgive my curiosity, but what method would you have employed to get the Horcrux out of Harry's head if we ummm, hadn't kissed?" Hermione was curious, but she was blushing still. The method was 'unconventional', to say the least.

"We could have poured Basilisk Venom on it. Or, we could have pushed his head through the Veil of Death to ensure only that soul fragment crossed over. Or we could have tried some very painful exorcism ritual. Or we could have made him copulate with thirteen virgin witches on the day of Samhain. Or..."

Hermione wasn't listening though. Her attention was solely focussed on Harry who had made the classic mistake of blurting out, "I wouldn't mind that!" to Croaker's fourth proposal. Using the same voice she had seen her mum use so many times, she glared at his boyfriend. "Harry James Potter...would you care to repeat that?" She added a bit too sweetly.

"No dear." Was Harry's immediate reply, something he had learned from his uncle Vernon...and something which about 50% of the world population knew to be the right answer.

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Harry sprinted into the centre of the maze. Oh there was the Cup, sitting right there. He paused for a second as he let his thoughts roam over the events of the past few days.

He had asked Hermione to be his date for the Yule Ball. She gladly accepted and Viktor Krum was in for a surprise when he asked her out as well. Harry certainly pitied the Bulgarian Champion-with the way Hermione was looking at the Yule Ball, he would have been a madman to let anyone else steal her away. They had loads of fun there, and Harry was glad for both the dancing lessons Sirius provided and the custom-made ball wears, sent by the Grangers and Dursleys. And the snogging was wonderful, too.

Then there was the second task. He smirked as he remembered what he had done for it; he had threatened the chief merman to spread DDT all over the lake if Hermione was even allowed to enter the lake. At the end, it proved unnecessary; the organizers used Ron as the hostage, and while Harry felt a bit sheepish for not having thought of him, it was better than the other alternative. He also got him out easily with the help of Gillyweed and also rescued Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle in the process.

However, since early this morning, he had felt a little on edge and when he asked Hermione about it, she confessed to having the same feelings of anxiety. Since they had gotten Voldemort's soul anchor out of Harry's head, both of them felt connected on so many levels; even more than earlier. They couldn't read each other's mind, in case you were wondering, but their mind and magic were very compatible with each other and even allowed Harry to share his surplus reserves with Hermione. They could feel something was off, and they felt it surely was to do with Voldemort. Both of them were highly unsure about Snape's true intentions; after all, he had let 'slip' the word that Remus was a werewolf, and he was also the one who had overheard Professor Trelawney's prophecy. Moreover, for the last few days, he had taken to treating Harry at an even more condescending manner than usual...as if he knew something they didn't. As if...his dreams were to be fulfilled. It certainly made them want to stay on their guard.

Hermione had debated in her mind over many possible course of action before a sharp gleam had come to her eyes. Even if Voldemort was to attempt something, it would require Harry to be abducted from the Castle, and the only suitable magical transport would be...

Crap! Harry never realized that he had placed his hands on the Triwizard Cup before his world dissolved into a swirl of colours.

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"**Expelliarmus!**" The spell soared through the air, disarming Harry. The next spell tied him up, securely. Harry had a scowl on his face as he realised just who had attacked him. It was no one he hadn't anticipated.

"Snape." He announced, curtly. "Thought I would see you here."

"You did, didn't you, Potter?" He waved his wand, looking a little deranged. "Thought you could handle me? Took this as a joke, did you? Just like your father. He thought he had gotten the better of me, he did. Look where it got him. He is gone, destroyed by my master, and you will soon join him." His mouth twitched in a sadistic smile, "I would have crushed you, Potter, if not for the fact that my master needs your body to be intact. Now you will resurrect my master, Potter...and finally, the last trace of James Potter will be destroyed."

"Snape", called out the child-like homunculus whom Harry hadn't noticed until then, "Prepare the boy for the ritual."

"Gladly, my Lord. Ahhh..." Snape suddenly screamed and then plopped down, now sprouting small tentacles from his face. "**Furnunculus**" and the Jelly-Legs Jinx didn't go together very well, something which Draco Malfoy had experienced first-hand. Another red bolt of light knocked him out.

Grinning, Hermione came into view. "Got to love that Cloak", she announced, grinning, and turned to face Harry with a smirk. "So my theory did work, huh?"

Harry shook his head softly. Hermione had come up with the conjecture that since they were connected in a way, any magic applied on him, could potentially be transferred to her as well. Hence, it led to her being ready tonight with the true cloak of invisibility, something which even Death couldn't see through. True, he had Saba, but that wouldn't have helped against Snape, who actually knew to duel, unlike Lockhurt.

"**Imperio!**" The chilling unforgivable sped through the air, as the homunculus tried to bend the wizard to his will. To his dismay, Harry just turned at her, flipped a finger and smirked, "Sorry Voldie...I am kind of immune to that curse. Incidentally, I have a pretty strong mind." Putting him in a full body bind, he turned to his intended, "Say, Hermione...Do you know what kind of ritual this was supposed to be?"

Hermione bit her lip before nodding her head, "Quite. This involved using the bones of the father, flesh of the servant and the blood of the enemy to create a new body for Mr. Flee-from-Death there." Her eyes suddenly widened, "Harry..."

The Boy-Who-Lived turned to look at the murderer of his parents as he tried to remember everything he had been told about them. Professor Lupin and Sirius had made him realize who they were, and how wonderful they were. Aunt Petunia had told him all about her sister; while it was not exactly a rosy description, it brought him even closer to her. Finally, with Hermione, he had found the true meaning of life, and the power Voldemort knew not-love. Harry felt all his power surge through him as he used the pocket-knife Sirius had gifted him with, and let a few drops of his blood drip into the body of Voldemort. It couldn't deal with the raw power and the emotion he never understood, finally did him in. Harry couldn't resist a last taunt though, "Dear Tom, you would be happy to know that all of your Horcruxes have been destroyed. So, have a happy journey, 'cause Death is but the next Great Adventure!"

Finally they were free, to do anything they pleased and to enjoy life as they envisioned. They embraced each other in a fierce hug and initiated another passionate lip-lock. Between kisses, Hermione asked Harry, panting, "Hey, what are we going to do about Pro...I mean, Snape?"

"Who cares? We can hand him over to DMLE, or the Unspeakables-they would probably like to research the Dark Mark, or rather leave him to the tender mercies of the Marauders...but for now, I'd like nothing better to kiss you all night."

And they continued to do so, never noticing that Saba re-stunned a Snape who was beginning to come around.

**A/N: Finished! My thoughts had been all over the place while writing this fanfic and the end product was certainly something other than I had envisioned, but hopefully it was amusing and enjoyable. As told before, this is not really meant to be taken siriusly...err, seriously. And, I also had a roll by almost reversing Canon! Petunia and Canon! Snape. Don't complain about neglecting Draco...he at least got a mention, Neville and Luna missed out. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review if you enjoyed it.**


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